The 2009 Halloween Dracula Tour began on October 27, when a group of travelers from all over the U.S. left for Transylvania on the 12th annual "vampire vacation" for fans and enthusiasts. One of the travelers, Beth Anne Tripi, kept a journal (a la Jonathan Harker), and here is the first part of her report on the journey...
Tour Report: Dracula Tour, Halloween, 2009
Submitted by: Beth Anne Tripi, Photos by Chuck Mauter
*I ask you in advance to please excuse my overuse of exclamation points and enthusiastic adjectives. It's just because everyday was AWESOME!! - Beth Anne Tripi
Day One - Tuesday, Oct. 27:
Today was a day of traveling. My travel buddy, Susan, and I left for JFK airport where we had some time to kill before meeting the rest of the group. Susan set off an emergency exit alarm while trying to find Air France in Terminal 1. We finally found everybody and Charles ("Cryptmaster Chiller Chucky") met us there at the airport to give us our goodie bags and send us on our way.
Day Two - Wednesday, Oct. 28:
I actually can't really recall what time it was when we got to Romania. At the Bucharest airport we met three more of our fellow travelers who joined us after touring other parts of Europe. Our Romanian tour-guide, Radu, found us quickly and right away we knew we were in for a treat. He is a hero! He knows EVERYTHING, was really funny, and took very good care of us. Our driver, Stefan, drove us through Bucharest (beautiful in the evening) to our first hotel, the Rin Grand, where we ate our welcome dinner there as a group. It was about 10pm Romanian time, 4pm Buffalo, NY time, so we crashed.
Day Three - Thursday, Oct. 29:
This morning we had plans to walk to the Carrefour next to the hotel to exchange our U.S. dollars into lei (Romanian currency) before traveling to Snagov Monastery, but it didn't open until 10am. Radu saved us and personally let all of us borrow lei for the day until we could exchange our money. Very kind of him! We traveled to Snagov and watched “Young Frankenstein” on the bus! With a smaller-sized group like we had, the bus was extra luxurious, there was plenty of room and we all had a window seat. Also, we got to pick the films we watched as we went.
As we approached Snagov, Radu called the "crazy monk," as he referred to him (affectionately, of course) so he could get the boat to take us over the moat to the island. We walked over the planks, yes planks, not bridge, and got on the boat. The island was fantastic! There were lots of animals, which reminds me that a few lucky travelers were able to capture photographic evidence of a dog humping a cat. Chuck commented how unusual it was that none of the kittens on the island looked like their father, haha! We named that doggie "Benji," he looked just like him.
The monastery itself was so cool, and there was a candlelight tribute to Vlad on the floor. Inside, a nun and some art students from a university were touching up the frescos on the wall, so we weren't allowed to take pictures of them. After crossing back to the mainland, Benji followed us to say goodbye on the dock.
We got back in the bus and traveled to Castle Bran. Sooo AWESOME!! It's just amazing to be standing in something that is so old and yet so well-kept. You could wander the rooms and winding staircases for hours. Outside, the market-place is a great place for shopping. Rick told us later in the trip that he fell at the castle (fall #1 for our trip) but that he was fine and nobody saw! After this, Radu took us to a restaurant in the mountains for dinner. It was beautiful inside, big and open with warm lighting and a fireplace. Radu made us eat polenta for dinner. I have mixed feelings about this! We all photographed this meal. And then he teased us and said he will take us to McDonald's in Brasov.
We made it to Brasov that evening (Radu's home base) and most of us went out to explore and have drinks or desserts after checking into the hotel. We stayed at Capitol Hotel. In all seriousness, the lights were turning on and off in mine and Susan's room periodically throughout the night. It figures we got the haunted room (is that good or bad?). Definitely weird . . .
Day 4 - Friday, Oct. 30:
In the morning, Radu took us on a walking tour of Brasov. We finally got to exchange our money and pay him back for his generous loan. My $200 American got me 572 lei! Brasov is surrounded by mountains, which on this day were covered in frost and snow. So beautiful! We visited the Black Church and experienced a Radu history lesson in the sanctuary. After this, we got back on the bus and traveled to Sighisoara, the birth place of Vlad. One of my favorite places! The best-preserved medieval city in Europe, it just looks like going back in time. They were renovating the streets, so we had to walk in mud, but it was no bother! Here we saw the torture museum and climbed the clock tower. We also saw the witch trial re-enactment. Susan got the whole thing on video. We ate lunch in the basement of an awesome hotel. It was like being in a dungeon! We had bean soup in giant, yes giant, bread bowls. This was another heavily photographed meal.
Then we got to climb the creepy, haunted, wooden-covered staircase (my photos of this have orbs everywhere!) and wandered through the cemetery until dusk. We met a nice local man walking his beagle through the graveyard. He didn't speak English, but Susan was able to communicate enough to show him a picture of her beagle at home. He tried to get his beagle to pose for a picture, but the little guy wouldn't turn around. Susan dubbed him a Transylvanian Were-beagle. We left after the cemetery and watched “Dark Prince,” filmed in Sighisoara, on the coach.
We arrived in Bistrita and checked into the Coroana de Aur. Here we had dinner in Jonathan Harker's saloon. It was creepy at first! The room was dark and we were armed with a clove of garlic and were escorted one-by-one down a haunted path to our seat at dinner. A spooky guy was grabbing our feet under the table! It was really fun. (Note to future travelers: I hope you like taxidermy). Scott was interviewed here for a local newspaper! The topic was why we like Halloween so much . . .
And tomorrow would be HALLOWEEN!
Part Two in tomorrow Horror Happenings...
Comments
Cant wait til the next segment of Beth Anne's journal!!!!
I wish i can go there it sounds soo! awesome to go there
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